Permanently
by ThePurpleSuperCow
Summary: A tragedy, a change, a new enemy...will Danny survive his time in Jump City? Read to find out.
1. Chapter 1

Yes, I'm horrible, starting a new fic with others still in need of updates. But you see dear readers, there is this dreadful condition called 'writer's block' and I've contracted this deadly disease and the only cure is letting out random plot bunnies. And this little one I call Rupert, say 'hi' Rupert!

Rupert: *Grins at you with his razor sharp teeth*

There's a good boy! Well, enjoy Rupert's idea!

'_Come on, Fenton! You can do this! Just a few more months, and you're home free!'_ At least, that's what Danny told himself. He thought that daily, as the sun went down, for the past two years. Ever since before his sixteenth birthday, since the day his parents and sister died, Danny had been running. Running from the one man he swore he'd never go to if the unthinkable happened, Vlad Masters, Danny's legal guardian.

'_Just a few more and Vlad can't get to me. Then I can go home.'_ Yes, a few more months separated Danny from freedom of Vlad. A few months and Danny would be eighteen, legally an adult with no need of a guardian and in control of all his family's assets. Danny smirked at the thought of suing 'uncle Vlad' for stealing his parents' _copyrighted_ inventions and making a profit off it. Oh and there was also the illegal cloning thing, the abuse, intentional murder, embezzlement and theft. Yes, Vlad will be going away for a long time especially if a certain half ghost teenager 'slipped' another ghostly secret of Vladimir Masters.

All these thoughts were going through Danny's head as he walked down a deserted street. A city limit sign came to view.

~Jump City~

Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, and Beastboy were enjoying the sunny weather at the park, one of their few 'days off' to be normal for once. Cy was cooking some hotdogs while BB and Star were playing catch with a Frisbee. Robin was setting up the picnic while Raven was reading underneath a tree.

"Yo! Come and get it!" Cyborg called out signaling the finished food. All five teenaged superheroes gathered at the blanket to eat.

"Excuse me?" the Titans turned to see another teen with bright blue eyes and shaggy black hair. His clothes were dirty and wrinkled and he had three bags on his back, none of them looked light in anyway.

"Can you point me to a soup kitchen or something?" The Titans shared a look.

"Why don't you join us?" Beastboy offered and the others nodded.

"Oh yes! You must join us while we partake the dogs of hotness!" Starfire said happily.

"You wanna try tofu-dogs?" BB asked as he held up the pre-offered item as a way to tempt the stranger, "It's full of tofu-y goodness." He finished in a sing-song voice.

"Um, are you sure? I mean, I don't want to intrude or anything."

"Hey, it's cool." Cy said, "Not a problem, man."

"I'm Robin," started the Boy Wonder, "And this is Cyborg, Starfire, Beastboy, and Raven." Each of the others said their hellos in their own way. Quick as a flash, Starfire was next to the newcomer.

"Please, I must ask," Here she took a large breath, "What-is-your-name? Where-do-you-come-from? What-is-your-favorite-color? And will-you-be-my-friend?" She let out her remaining breath in a rush.

"Uh…" Only Robin and Raven noticed his discomfort, Raven noticed because of the emotions running off of the dark-haired boy in front of her teammates, Robin noticed when the stranger tensed into a defensive stance when Star floated up to him.

"Could you say that a little slower, please?" Starfire nodded and repeated herself at a normal pace.

"My name's Danny, I came from…out east, blue…or red, and sure why not."

"Glorious! New friend Danny, will you now be joining us?"

"Yeah, man, take a load off." Cyborg went to help Danny with his bags.

"No! I mean, no…thanks. I got it." Robin's eyes narrowed. Why had he freaked like that? It's obvious this kid was on the streets, but to jump like that was strange to say the least. Danny put down his bags, far enough away so they wouldn't be obvious but close enough to be grabbed at a moment's notice. Danny was a runaway. But what was he running from? Or who?

"You sure I'm not being a bother?" Danny asked again.

"No bother at all." Said the Boy Wonder as he took a closer look at Danny's appearance. Danny was skinny; Rob couldn't tell if that was natural or from lack of food but judging by the way Danny never took his eyes off the hotdogs, he figured it was the latter. Danny was also covered in dirt and grime, like the boy had been on his own for awhile and hadn't had a decent shower in just as long. Robin noticed how Danny kept looking around before he sat down, like he was expecting something to happen or making sure no one was watching. Robin watched as Danny ate, he was controlling himself, forcing himself to not take too big of a bite and making sure everyone had one more before grabbing another for him; all while keeping a watch on his surroundings and an ear on the conversation happening around him. Time to start asking questions.

"So, how long have you been on the streets, Danny?" Danny coughed on a bight of hotdog.

"What makes you think I'm living on the streets?" Robin dished out the facts that pointed to Danny being a runaway. "Fine, okay, yeah. I've been on the run for…two years, I think?" he admitted but then glowered at the masked boy sitting across from him, "And I'm not going back, not yet." They all blinked in surprise.

"But you want to go back, right?" Beastboy asked.

"Yeah, eventually. But I can't right now, it's better for everyone if I just stay away for awhile longer."

"How much longer?" Asked Cyborg.

"Three or four more months," Danny answered with a shrug, "just until my birthday."

"Why would you have to wait for your birthday?" Robin said in a low voice; he didn't mean to ask out loud, but he did and Danny heard.

"Look, I'm not really comfortable answering a bunch of questions right now. I just met you guys and, well, there are some things that I need to keep to myself. Why I'm waiting is one of them, okay?" The team nodded.

All through the picnic and the small Q&A, Raven had been trying to read Danny's emotions. They were confusing and jumbled, some were hidden others were being reigned in and others still were out there for anyone to see. What made it worse was the fact that they were all intensified to an extreme yet hidden by an invisible and impassible wall. Danny had a very strong mental shield, no cracks or breaks anywhere; there was no way in. The emotions Danny showed were…muted, like he didn't really feel that way, like he was the one wearing the mask not Robin. Time to break the ice and ask her own questions.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Most people jump when she decided to speak, they just forgot she was there and conversed with her friends. Not Danny, he was aware from the very beginning that she was there.

"Not currently, but I'm gonna find a shelter or something. You don't have to worry about that." The last line was obviously directed at all the Titans though Danny's gaze never left Raven's.

"Would you care to do the _sleep over_ with us?" Star asked timidly looking between Robin and Danny to make sure it was ok with either boy. Danny made an unintelligent sound of indecision.

"Fine with me." Robin said, deciding for the other boy.

"Okay, but I reserve the right to leave when I want to, no questions asked." Robin and Starfire nodded, both happy with the answer and the chance to get to know Danny better.

"Alright then, let's pack up." Soon after, the empty basket that had held the food, the blanket, the equipment and two of Danny's biggest bags were stuffed in the trunk of the T-car. Danny had refused to part from his purple backpack saying that it had some fragile things inside that he didn't want to get broken. As it was, there was little room in the vehicle until BB transformed into a kitten and sat on Star's lap much to her enjoyment.

~Titan Tower~

"You realize that you guys live in a giant letter, right?" Danny monotoned. He was only slightly impressed when the T-car hovered over the ocean to reach the island home in the bay of Jump City. Even less impressed by the gigantic 'T' shaped tower situated on the island.

Once they all exited the car, BB turned back to his human form.

"That's because we're the Teen Titans, dude!"

"Well, that explains why it's a 'T'…" Danny said as he grabbed his bags before anyone could help lift them, he didn't want anyone of them to figure out that he was anything other than a normal runaway kid. If any of them even tried to lift his bags, they would find almost six-hundred pounds of weaponry within the jumble of clothing. His most important items; the ghost files, the thermos, some books his parents' wrote, and a time medallion; were in his purple knapsack on his back and never out of reach. Those were the only things that kept him sane the last two years along with photos of his family and friends that he hid in one of his other bags.

"Can I use the shower real quick?" Danny said once he gathered the bags.

"Sure, dude! Follow me!" BB said as he turned into a puppy. Danny stared at the green changeling, he looked like Cujo's little brother. Beastboy wiggled his little tail and bounded off into the tower; Danny shook his head and followed after.

After his shower, Danny followed Beastboy around the tower as he explained each level of the monster 'T'. Despite its large size, the tower had only five floors. Starting at the very top, at the cross section of the 'T', was an Ops. Center/living room/kitchen. The center of this room was taken up by a circular couch and there was a large TV displayed proudly in front of said couch. A computer to the right of the TV, a very expensive looking computer too. The kitchen area looked like it was ready for any chef to waltz right in and prepare a full seven course meal for ten.

'_Where did they get the money to pay for all this?'_ Danny thought.

The next level was the girls' rooms; Starfire's room was on the west side of the building while Raven's was closest to the center of it. Danny noticed how BB looked down one corridor with a frown but he didn't comment on it and the tour continued.

The next level was the boys' rooms. Cy was on the south side, BB on the east and Robin got two rooms in the center and west of the building leaving only one room open to Danny on the north side of the tower. Each of these levels had one bathroom each.

The fourth level was a training area and also a medical facility. Both sections looked state of the art and very high tech.

The last level of the tower was an underground garage. Danny could see the T-car and a red motorcycle neatly parked next to what looked like a spaceship that had five control pods.

"Thanks for the tour." BB smiled at the visitor.

"No problem, dude. Just remember to not go in Rob or Rae's rooms. They get touchy over their stuff." Danny's hand subconsciously went to the strap of his bag on his back.

"Yeah, sure, I'll remember." BB's eyes softened, he never told anyone about his short time alone before he joined the Doom Patrol. And that's the reason the shape-shifter's heart went out to any runaway he came across, like Terra.

~Somewhere in Wisconsin~

Vlad paced in one of his overly large lounge like rooms. Who knew it was so hard to locate one seventeen year old boy? Sure there had been sightings and rumors, but as soon as they could be confirmed that it was indeed Daniel, the boy disappeared like a ghost and would pop up again in some other backwater town far away from where he started out. And the process would repeat, with Vlad getting closer each time. That's all that separated Vlad from his goal, time; and Vlad was a patient man. Though time was also against him as well. In three months time, the boy would legally be an adult and forever out of Vlad's grasp, him and all of the things he inherited. Jasmine was too smart for her own good sometimes, the blasted girl convinced her parents to add a clause to their will stating that if anything should happen to the elder Fentons while their children were still minors, the children would have to consent to and be present for any dealings with their inheritance. Daniel was the sole heir to the Fenton Family name and thereby owned all of his parents' inventions and royalties gained from selling them. Daniel could be a very wealthy individual and a rival in some of Vlad's companies if the man didn't secure a merger or take-over soon. Worse yet, the boy could ruin him if he wasn't silenced soon, and permanently.

Hi again! So did you like chapter one? PM me for anything you have questions about and I'll do my best to answer. Say 'bye' Rupert!

Rupert: *Grins at you with his razor sharp teeth*

You don't say much do you, buddy.

Rupert: *Still grinning at you*

Didn't think so…Till next time! The PSC~~OUT!


	2. Chapter 2

What's this, Rupert?

Rupert: *Grinning still*

Another chapter you say? So soon?

Rupert: *Grinning and slowly nodding*

Okay then! Enjoy!

~Amity Park~

"Two years."

"What?"

"Two years, Tuck. He's been gone for two years. Two years, seven months, and fourteen days." Tucker Foley sadly looked at his equally sad and gothic friend Sam Manson.

"I'm sorry, Sam, but you know that things would only be worse if he stayed. Worse for everyone."

"I know that, but it doesn't stop the hurt. It doesn't stop me wanting to hear his voice and see his smile. The only thing that keeps me going on is that I know he'll be back."

"Just three more months, Sam. Less really…"

"Two months and twelve days, but that's only if he's kept track of the date."

"Just wait for June, July fourth at the latest. No one could miss the fireworks, even if he _did_ mess up the days." Sam smiled, it didn't reach her eyes but it was a real smile, the first in two years.

~Titans Tower~

Alarms blazed throughout the building effectively gaining the attention of all six teens inside. The five who knew what this meant rushed to the Ops. Center, the one who didn't figured it was important and followed.

"What is it?" Cyborg asked as Robin typed on the computer console.

"Trouble, burglary and vandalism in the warehouse district."

"What's being stolen?" Questioned Raven.

"That's the odd thing. Everything is taken but then dumped somewhere."

"Dumped?" Beastboy repeated.

"Yeah, just left out in the open in huge piles. And even weirder yet, nothing is on the tapes."

"Let me get this straight," Danny said, "anything and everything is taken with nothing showing up on tape then the stuff is dumped in a huge pile on the floor. Are they still in their boxes?" Robin raised an eyebrow but checked for the answer to the odd question.

"Uh, no, why would that be important?" Danny fell into a more relaxed state, Robin's curiosity piqued higher.

"It's just a ghost, a weak one at that. Just watch out for the boxes that still have stuff in them." With that, he walked away presumably to go to his room. Robin shook off this weird encounter and shouted his signature battle cry.

~Danny's room in the tower~

'_Why did I do that? Why did I tell them it was a ghost? Can they even fight a ghost? I know it's just the Box Ghost but still.'_ Danny paced the room. It was simple and not very decorated, like it was waiting for someone to finally 'own' it, like it was waiting for someone to be comfortable enough to stay and decorate it. Danny stopped pacing and took a look around the room again, searching for cameras, and with a nod he closed his eyes. Bright lines of light encased his waist and separating, taking away his human appearance for a more ghostly one. Where Danny had stood a phantom now floated, Danny Phantom.

"Time for a little reunion." He phased through the ceiling and off to go find the troublesome blue specter.

~Jump City~

"Stay alert, no telling what's in there." Robin said via the communicators.

"Clear over here." Cyborg said.

"Same here." Raven monotoned.

"It is also clear here." Starfire stated floating above the building.

"And here too," Said Beastboy, "dude, I think we got played." He didn't know that a blue head phased through the wall behind him. After the head came shoulders and a stubby body. The man, dressed in what looked like over-alls, raised both his arms and took a deep breath.

"Hey! Boxy!" Beastboy turned sharply to see the floating man, still in his pose.

"Who _dares_ to disturb the BOX GHOST in his quest to frighten the _green human_?" He shouted at the top of his lungs. A blur dropped from above to land in between Boxy and BB. Beastboy saw that this new…_thing_ was wearing a black tight-skinned long-sleeved shirt, white cargo pants with two silver chains attached to a belt loop on the right side, on his feet were a pair of black and silver combat boots, and black fingerless gloves with a white stripe and silver studs adorned his hands. BB couldn't see this guy's face but did see that his hair was whiter than new-fallen snow.

"What are _you_ doing here, _Phantom_?" asked the blue man known as the Box Ghost.

"Oh, you know. Flying around, soaking up some sun, and kicking your sorry tail. I told you what would happen the next time I saw you scaring another human." The Box Ghost let out a small 'eep' and turned back to the wall.

"Can I…?" Box Ghost started.

"Scram." Phantom said harshly and the blue specter ran for his afterlife. Phantom chuckled as soon as he was out of sight and turned to Beastboy for the first time. BB froze. Those eyes; those electric toxic green eyes. Those eyes weren't natural; those eyes belonged in horror movies and spooky stories. Those eyes belonged to a ghost. BB didn't even notice the white stylized 'D' logo over this ghost's un-beating heart or when the spook started to speak.

"…out him, he won't bother you or anyone else around here anymore." The green shape-shifter shook his head to clear the cobwebs.

"Uh, no problem, dude?" the boy in black and white smiled.

"See ya, then." With a wave the ghost started to float away.

"Wait!" The specter paused to look at Beastboy with an eyebrow raised. "What's your name?" The ghost's face darkened and he turned to the sky once more.

"Phantom, just a Phantom." And he disappeared.

~Somewhere over Jump City Bay~

'_Phantom? Is that all I am anymore? Just a Phantom?'_ Danny thought of little else as he flew back to his room in Titans Tower. _'Only Phantom? What does it mean to be Phantom anymore?'_ Thoughts of the past two years flew through his mind, that fateful day in January, his decision to leave, his promise to return, even his 'farewell' to Boxy that made the blue specter leave Amity Park alone. The poor ghost didn't deserve it, not in the least, Danny was just stressed and angry and he just took it all out on the blue man. Then there was Skulker's own 'farewell' to Danny that left the half-ghost with a permanent scar on the boy's back that wrapped around his torso in a spiral. Even with his ghostly healing, it wouldn't go away; though Clockwork said it would eventually.

'_When you've learned to open your past to your future? What does that even mean?'_ He asked as much to the time master who responded with a smirk as he handed over a time medallion; the same medallion that resided in Danny's backpack in the wall of his room at the tower. The tower that loomed ahead, a glowing beacon of hope in the dark sea of turmoil that surrounded it.

~With the Titans~

"Phantom?" Robin asked incredulously.

"That's what the dude said. Then he sorta vanished."

"How is this possible?" Starfire asked with a squeak.

"I don't know, but I'm willing to bet that Danny does." Stated the Boy Wonder with a finger on his chin in thought.

"Danny? What does Danny have to do with any of this?" Asked Cyborg.

"He knew." Everyone turned to Raven, "Danny knew there would be a ghost here, and maybe he knows Phantom too." The five teenagers nodded to each other, time to get some answers.

~Amity Park~

The Red Huntress flew above the town looking for any threats. Danny and his now departed family on her mind. _'Why would he leave just like that?'_ She missed him dearly, enough to know that she still had a crush on him; but she didn't regret her decision to drop the relationship. She flew over the dark and empty Fenton Works building. _'I thought it would've been a ghost that got them, not…not a human.'_ She shook her head to clear it from the unwanted and unbidden memories of the crash that came to the front of her mind. _'Danny was lucky to have been in detention that day. He's lucky to be alive.'_ If only she knew.

Sam watched from her window as Valerie flew over Danny's ho…house. Without all the Fentons, it was just an empty house. Without the love, it wasn't a home anymore; without Danny, Amity Park wasn't a nice place to live. Ghosts seem to have realized that Danny wasn't there to protect his town and they've practically taken over. Though there _was_ a glimmer of hope in this sea of turmoil, Danny _Phantom_ was viewed as a hero in everyone's eyes. Not a single man, woman, or child doubted this now; even Valerie.

'_Now if only he'd come home.'_

Tucker was typing madly; every stroke of the keys brought him closer to his best friend. Tucker knew he could find Danny, he had to find Danny. Amity Park needed him, Tucker needed him, _Sam_ needed Danny. Needed him bad.

'_I should've known, I should've seen it coming. After all, Sam never cries.'_

Tucker continued to look for any sighting, no matter how small, of a certain white haired ghost boy. Most were bogus rumors spread by the media and jealous 'Phan-girls' that Vlad would ignore, but even in these lies there was a glint of truth that only thr…two people in this world would see. Tucker's typing slowed as he thought of his lost crush. Yeah, it was weird to say he liked his best friend's older sister; maybe that's why he fought so hard for attention from _any _other girl. He shook his head to clear it.

'_Sam's counting on me, I can't be distracted just yet."_ And he went back to the computer screen with new vigor.

~Somewhere in Wisconsin~

"You are very good at hiding, Little Badger. Very good indeed but that can't last. You'll have to come sooner or later and when you do, I'll be waiting." Vlad monologued as he sorted through various letters and documents on his large and expensive desk. His mind warped from years of revenge schemes gone south and the recent loss of his 'one true love'. Vlad was gone, too far gone to ever return. He was the fruit loop that Danny had always called him so it came as no surprise when another egotistical maniac managed to get into contact with him. The envelope was white with a red 'S' dashed across the front, no stamp, no return address, and no hesitance to open the strange letter. Vlad smiled like the madman he was when a new plan formed in his mind at the new information that was freely given to him.

"One way or another, Daniel, you will join me; even if I have to request help from my new acquaintance Mr. Slade."

Hey, Rupert?

Rupert: *Turns head around and faces me*

We forgot the disclaimer.

Rupert: *Growls maliciously*

Well there you go! Rupert just said it!

Rupert: *growls again*

Liar! You just said 'I don't own Danny Phantom or Teen Titans'!

Rupert: *Chuckles evilly*

Ooooh, you naughty boy. But I love you anyway! Say Bye-bye!

Rupert: *Goes back to grinning unblinkingly at you*

And before we forget, thanks to my reviewers! You guys (and gals) made my day!


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to all my reviewers! I especially want to thank jeanette9a for Rupert's new toy and cloak!

Rupert: *Admiring his new black cloak with white flame design*

Don't forget your pretty pokey stick!

Rupert: *picks up a black handled scythe with green mystical runes and a green gem on top*

Are you gonna thank jeanette9a for your presents?

Rupert: *giggles evilly*

Enjoy the new chap!

~Titans Tower~

A green gloved hand knocked on the door with no hesitance.

"Coming…" a voice inside mumbled and seconds later a head showed itself. "Whacha want?" Danny asked groggily. It was late, the Titans had just come back from patrolling the city and getting their customary 'after patrol pizza' as Beastboy called it. Robin just called it dinner.

"Brought you some pizza, figured you were hungry." Danny perked up a bit at the prospect of food; living on the streets would do that to a guy.

"Thanks," He took the pizza box, "Is that all?" He greedily stuffed a slice of hot cheese pizza in his mouth making sure he chewed slowly.

"For now, I guess. But I want to talk with you in the morning. Goodnight." With that, Robin turned and left.

Danny, who was apparently a very good actor, closed the door to his room and continued with what he was doing before he was interrupted; training. That's why he didn't poke out more than his head and arm for Robin, seeing as he was covered in sweat and was only wearing a pair of sweatpants. Sure, he did a little invisible exploring, looking for cameras and such; but he'd gotten bored and the first thing he thought of was to exercise using his big duffle bags as weights.

'_Maybe I could sneak into the gym one day and get a decent work-out.'_ He sighed as he picked up the now light weight of his bags.

~Titans' living/meeting room~

"So? He was sleeping, what's the big deal?" Cyborg asked sarcastically.

"That's the problem, Cy. He only acted like he was sleeping." Robin explained, "When he took the box, he was shirtless and coated in sweat." Rob shook his head. Danny was a mystery that was infuriating him. He was obviously hungry but he ate slowly and measured every bite he took, he was definitely running from something but claimed to want to go back, and the bags that he was so protective of were most likely filled with more than just clothes. The last one in particular made Robin frustrated. Then, to add a new piece to this incomplete puzzle, Danny seems to know about ghosts.

"We'll just have to ask him tomorrow. Chill man." Cy said in an attempt to calm down his leader and friend.

"Fine, we all need to get some rest anyway. See you tomorrow, guys." Robin left his friends and teammates to their own thoughts and to actually get some sleep for once. He wanted to be fully alert when he asked Danny his questions.

~Amity Park~

"Found him! Oh my PDA, I found him!" Tucker exclaimed loudly. He'd been up all night when a whole slew of 'sightings' came to the internet. Each under a different name, each originating from a town in California, each…from Danny. It was an old secret message that the two friends made up a long time ago, Tucker almost forgot about it. Danny, weather he knew it or not, was telling his friend that he was okay and where he was. Tucker immediately tracked the sever and found his best friend in Jump City, soon after that Tuck knew everything about the coast town even down to what Mrs. Johnson from 384 Greene Street like to use in her morning coffee. Ok, so not quite _that_ far, but Tucker knew enough to know where exactly his friend was.

"No way!" He breathed as he quickly picked up his cell phone to call Sam.

~Titans Tower-Living room~

"So, what's this about?" The Titans had finally awoken and dragged their guest to the big couch.

"How did you know it was a ghost?" Robin demanded.

'_No pretenses, he's playing for keeps.'_ Danny thought, _'better play dumb.'_

"Wha?" _'Oh, __**brilliant**__ Fenton, just __**brilliant**__!'_

"Yesterday, before we went out, you knew we would find a ghost. How did you know?"

"I, uh, thought it was, I don't know, kinda obvious." _'Add a nervous neck rub…'_

"How was it obvious? How did you _know_?" Robin leaned in to growl in Danny's face, a tactic that scared many lowlife scumbags…Danny had seen much worse.

"Dude, personal space. I know 'cause ghosts are normal from where I come from." _'Oh, fudge buckets! I just told him too much…and I'm turning into the fruit loop!'_

"Fine, then what were you doing last night?" Rob stood straight and crossed his arms.

"What do you mean 'what was I doing'? I was sleeping, duh!" Danny observed how the other Titans just stood back and let Robin do his thing; he seemed to be their best bet at getting information at least.

"No you weren't, you were sweating."

"So I can't have a friggin' nightmare about my pa…" He glared at the Boy Wonder, "Never mind about that; I had a nightmare, that's all you need to know." Danny crossed his arms as he stood to face them all, "Let me put this into perspective for all you; I've had it rough and though I'm glad you decided to help me, I'm not going to be spilling my secrets and past for the world to see. I need you to know that it takes a lot to earn my trust, and though you went a long way in helping, you're still a long way off too."

"Trust is a two-way street, Danny. You have to earn ours too." Rob countered.

"I'm not looking for your trust; I'm not trying to put down roots. You'd be better off if you left me alone actually." Danny mumbled the last part to himself, not realizing that they heard him. The Titans stood stunned as Danny moved away from them.

"Can I use your training room?" He asked with his back to them still, "I…need to let off some steam."

"Yeah, sure man" Cyborg said before Rob could retort and he followed Danny out to make sure the guest didn't mess up the training room.

~Amity Park~

"Okay, I'm here. What was so important that I had to come over?" Tucker was looking at his computer screen again looking up more facts about Jump City or, to be more accurate, the Teen Titans.

"I found out where Danny is." That simple sentence filled a normally apathetic girl with more emotion than she'd felt in her entire high school career.

'_Danny…__**my**__ Danny…'_

"He's in a town in California called Jump City." Tucker continued.

"Jump City? Isn't that where the…?"

"Yeah, Sam, the Teen Titans. He's staying with them."

"You mean…you mean he's…"

"I'm not sure; there have been no announcements of a new Titan or of a new hero at all. All I know is that Danny is, as of this moment, in Titans Tower."

~Titans Tower-Training area~

"So, what you wanna do first?" Cy asked as he observed Danny. The black haired boy was looking around the room till his eyes landed on a huge machine on one side of the room.

"What's that?" Cy followed Danny's gaze to see his bench press.

"Oh, that's just a bench press that I designed. Us super strong teens have to keep in shape too." Danny chuckled internally, knowing that Cy didn't know that was the reason he was working out.

"Can I try?" Cyborg thought about it.

"I suppose if I turn it _way_ down, you could. But I think the lowest weight is two hundred pounds or something like that."

'_So low? Oh wait, I'm not __**supposed**__ to be able to lift a bus full of kids over my head one-handed.'_

"Sounds okay to me." He said out loud, his internal quip causing him to grin.

"If you're sure…" Danny just nodded and sat on the bench. He didn't want to change into his 'human work-out sweats' as Tucker called them once, and he _definitely_ wasn't going ghost.

Cyborg turned on the machine and told Danny how to control it and, once he started, walked away to do something else. It wasn't long before he was hungry.

"Hey, I'm gonna get something to eat real quick. You need anything?"

"Nah," Danny said through a faked grunt, "I'm good." And the metal teen took one last look at Danny before leaving. Danny smirked.

"Let's see how I've improved, shall we?" He didn't change the settings knowing that it would be on a database inside the machine itself; so, instead, he used his little finger and lifted the weight with just that. Growing bored, he used his nose instead. Then he went into tricks, using the weight and bar like a hacky sack, bouncing it off his elbows and fingers, just playing around. He didn't know about the camera that linked to the computer upstairs; where Robin was watching.

~Upstairs~

Robin, Raven, Beastboy, Starfire, and Cyborg all gaped open-mouthed as Danny pushed the heavy weight up with his nose and flipped on the bench three times before catching it with his teeth.

"What does that weigh?" BB asked, stunned.

"Right now, two-fifty. That's as light as I could make it." Robin assumed his 'thinking intensely' pose.

"Has anyone lifted Danny's bags besides him?" They all shook their heads no. Before the Boy Wonder could respond, the alarm went off; Cinderblock was on the loose again.

~Training room~

Danny heard the alarm going off.

"Geez, this better not be another ghost." He set the weights down and turned off the machine. Looking around out of habit, he spotted something that made him pale; a camera.

'_Oh no! Oh man oh man oh man! I hope no one saw that. Aw, who am I kidding? With my luck, everyone saw it.'_ During his mental freak-out, he moved toward his room. The one place where he knew there was no cameras, his one safe haven.

'_I'm getting too comfortable here; I have to watch myself now along with keeping an eye out for ghosts as well as Vlad. I can't put down roots, not here, not after coming so far.'_ He made it to his room, the room he firmly stated, if only in his own mind, that was most defiantly _not_ his. Another visual sweep and a bright flash of light later, Danny Phantom exited the tower to face the unknown villain.

~Amity Park~

The late afternoon sun glinted off Valerie's bangles on her usual walk home. Sure, it'd be easier to fly on her board. But today, she doesn't feel like flying or hunting or homework for that matter.

'_Without Danny and Phantom around, I think I've lost my drive.'_ The usually strong-willed girl had wilted into a mild form of depression. She got up in the morning to see Danny and his smile, just because she broke off their relationship didn't mean that she didn't like him still, even after almost four years. Then there was Phantom. He was quick and smart, strong and talented; and, she'd only admit it to herself, kinda cute. Phantom was the puzzle that Valerie was determined to solve then shoot for making it so hard. Though without these two boys, she had deflated.

'_Why did I even start hunting ghosts?'_

~Somewhere in Wisconsin~

"Very well, Mr. Slade. I will accept your terms. But the prize I seek is far more elusive than your little robin." Vlad had a phone to his ear. On the other end, Mr. Slade, the mysterious benefactor in Vlad's quest for Danny.

"Oh, that won't be a problem, I assure you. Oh yes, I can fly out tomorrow morning. Where would you like to meet?"

Rupert: *giggles evilly*

Hey, Rupert, don't get any ideas about joining them. We have enough on our plate as it is!

Rupert: *looking innocent*

That's my boy! Thanks for the reviews guys (and gals); I hope I can keep up your expectations.

Rupert: *Back to grinning*


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the reviews guys (and gals) it means so much to Rupert and I. Isn't that right, Rupert?

Rupert: *grinning like the homicidal maniac that he is*

Oh, and thanks for the new toys jeanette9a!

Rupert: *admiring how his medallion goes with his scythe*

Here's the new chapter that you all want so bad. Sorry this one took longer than what I wanted it too.

Rupert: *glares at me*

Ok, fine. I was procrastinating a _tiny_ bit.

Rupert: *scampers off to 'play'*

I'd better catch him, enjoy the chapter!

~Somewhere in Jump City~

"Titans! Go!" A great stone monster was ravaging a street in the business district. Five heroes are doing their best to stop this hulking creature known as Cinderblock. What they didn't know was that there was another watching over them invisibly. Danny had shown up seconds after the Titans found the massive mutation.

'_Not a ghost, not my problem.'_ And that philosophy had kept him out of the fight but his conscience and hero-complex kept him near, just in case. He had to admit that they were good; their team looked like the well tended clocks in Clockwork's tower, each piece fitting together almost perfectly. Key being _almost_, but nobody was perfect. It was still that 'almost' that caused him to wince as he saw Cinderblock toss Robin like a sack of potatoes.

'_That's it, I'm going in!'_ Danny dove head first at the block creature, becoming visible half-way down.

"Hey, block-head!" The Titans looked for the new voice that sounded familiar, "Heads up!" Phantom slammed into Cinderblock from above. The crater and shockwave picked up a cloud of dust, masking the fight that the team knew was happening around them. Grunts, moans, roars, and blasts could be heard and none of the teens could tell if it was from Cinderblock…or Phantom.

~Amity Park~

"Can we…go visit him?"

"I'm not sure, Sam. Maybe, but we'd have to be very careful. We don't have J…Anyone to back up our stories if we go."

"So? That's never stopped us before! I need to see him, Tuck, I _need_ to, please." That look, that heart-broken and pleading look could break the resolve of the most hardened of solders. Tucker sighed and looked at his feet.

"Alright, Sam, but I reserve the right to blame you for this." A smile, so very small but bright none the less, graced the goth's lips. "How are we going to get there?" And just like that, the Sam that Tucker knew came back, the smart and thoughtful girl with a violent streak a mile wide and pinpoint accuracy aim.

"I'm sure Danny wouldn't mind if we borrowed the…his Speeder." They both were still getting used to the fact that Jack, Maddie and Jazz were gone; though they were sure Danny had it worse.

"I think he'd let us borrow some other things too." Tuck said with a small smile, trying to keep the mood light. Together they made their way to their friend's house.

~Somewhere under the streets of Jump City~

A man clad in black and bronze watched on several monitors as Phantom battled and defeated Cinderblock. Disharmony in the form of broken and mismatched clock gears surrounded him.

"Interesting… I believe I should meet Mr. Masters soon, I think he will be very happy to see his lost son."

~On the streets of Jump City~

Phantom rose out of the dust cloud leaving a hog-tied concrete monster in a crater.

"Dude! That was _so awesome_!" Beastboy announced enthusiastically as Phantom landed next to the changeling.

"If you say so, I just don't want anyone hurt because of me." Robin, Raven and Starfire were all out of hearing range, leaving Cyborg and Beastboy to hear this.

"What do you mean?" Cy asked in confusion.

"If I just left, you guys could have gotten hurt, and then it'd be my fault because I didn't help." The ghost-boy rubbed the back of his neck.

"Nuh-uh, dude, we do this kind of thing all the time. We're used to it, but thanks for the help." Beastboy said softly, Cy blinked at him.

'_When did the grass stain get so…sympathetic?'_

"Yeah, well, I, uh, gotta go, bye." And Phantom left, much like the last time.

~Titans Tower~

"What?" All of the Titans were gaping at Beastboy. They had seen the recording that Cyborg made of his interaction with Phantom. Danny was sitting in the kitchen in some loose cotton pajama-like pants and shirt drinking some tea that he found in one of the cupboards. Cinderblock got a few good hits in and he was sore, but he didn't want anyone to associate weak/helpless runaway Danny Fenton to strong/powerful Danny Phantom. But Danny's thoughts were on more than the fight and home this time.

'_I'm getting __**way**__ too comfortable here.'_ He took another sip of the hot beverage. _'I can't stay; it's for their own good. To keep them safe…What am I __**thinking**__? They can take care of themselves! But…'_ He let his eyes wonder the room. Everyone else was looking at the green changeling.

"I just told him the truth! We _do_ go after bad guys all the time!"

"It's not _what_ you said; it's _how_ you said it." Danny explained as he sipped his tea again, "That and I'm sure that you're viewed as the team joker, known to only get serious on the job. Sometimes not even then." He muttered the last sentence to himself with a smile that he hid with his tea cup. The smile faded as he realized his train of thought again.

'_But…they're only human. Am I? Am I human with powers? Or a ghost who can act human? I'm not sure if I can even die, but I know they can. So I'll protect the lives of my friends…Did I just call them my friends?'_ Danny stood as swiftly as his aching muscles would allow.

"I'm kinda tired; I think I'll go to bed now." Good thing it was nine o'clock, which made his lie believable. He moved so fast out of the room that he didn't hear Star wish him a goodnight. No one was paying much attention to Danny for their eyes on BB, but the green shape-shifter noticed Danny's slight limp and how he tried to not move his left arm while walking. Unknown to him, Beastboy's mind made a connection that no one in Amity Park had made over the last four years.

~Beastboy's room-later that night~

He was flying. He knew this is what flight felt like but it felt…wrong somehow. Usually he felt the burn of muscles in motion as he flew, the steady thump of wings at his side, the feel of wind whipping through feathers, his flight was constant motion no matter what animal he chose to be. This flight was…unrestrained, wild, and weird. This flight was otherworldly. He felt a presence by his side and looking up he saw Phantom. The white haired ghost boy was smiling at him.

'Beat that, grass stain.'

'Is that a challenge, ghost-boy?' Phantom laughed, a sound that was as unrestrained as the flight they were taking.

'Only if you can come up with a better comeback, short-stack.'

'Whatever, dude. Do another loop-the-loop!' Phantom smirked.

'I can do better than that!' And they rocketed off, wind wasn't a problem. Neither was gravity or any known laws of physics. Phantom's lower body morphed into a spectral tail adding to their speed. Beastboy knew that Danny would never drop him.

The green changeling opened his eyes a crack before he registered his last thought in dreamland. That revelation startled him fully awake with a shout. BB fell out of his bed, tangled in sheets, onto the hard cold floor. He quickly untangled himself and bolted to Danny's room. He had to prove his dream crazy fantasy or crazy truth, either way it was crazy.

Beastboy knocked softly on Danny's door. The teen inside was stretching out his tense and sore back having awakened from his own sleep. But his was not nearly as peaceful. Once Danny heard the soft knocking he stiffened, hoping that whoever it was would go away.

"Dude, I need to talk to you. Like, now! It's important." With a sigh, Danny went to let in Beastboy. The green teen shoved his way into Danny's room and swiftly closed and locked the door.

"What's up?" BB was acting strange and it was starting to worry Danny.

"I'm going to ask you one question and you have to be totally honest with me, kay?" During that rant, the shape-shifter was looking everywhere as if he was checking it for cameras and recording devices.

"Uh, sure?" Danny took a seat on his mostly unused bed, "What is it, Beastboy?" BB calmed down and stood in front of Danny, looking the other teen in the eye.

"Are you…are you Phantom?" Danny's eyes widened and his body reacted instantly clamping a hand over BB's mouth.

"What do you know? How much have you figured out? How _did_ you figure it out?" Beastboy shoved the panicking Danny off him.

"Chill dude, you need to calm down." Danny took several deep breaths.

"Alright, okay, I'm fine, okay." He looked at BB again, "How did you figure it out?"

"Well," And he went into a very complicated and long-winded explanation of his animal senses and the dream he had added to the little things he noticed about _Danny_-Danny and _Phantom_-Danny that involved a chart descending from the ceiling and pictures, that looked like they were hand drawn by a two year old, flying in the background. Suddenly, Danny's hand was once more on the changeling's mouth.

"You could have just said that you pieced it together." And the rest of the night was devoted to Danny's powers and some stories of what he'd done. Danny felt lighter knowing that he had another person who could cover for him as Fenton or Phantom. And before Beastboy left to get some sleep, Danny reminded him to keep his secret away from the other Titans.

~Somewhere in the airspace between Wisconsin and California~

Vlad was flying to meet his new partner.

"I'm coming, Little Badger, and when I find you…Papa is not going to be happy."

Well my dear Rupert, I believe we have finished yet another chapter. Did you enjoy your play time?

Rupert: *holding up scythe and polishing it*

Good boy, taking care of your pretty toy!

Rupert: *Grins at me while wiping off blood from the blade*

See ya next time, folks!


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys (and gals) it's me again! I decided that I'm gonna start updating every other day to give me time to actually _correct_ my mistakes! YAY!

Rupert: *grins wickedly*

Enjoy this chap and see you at the bottom!

~Amity Park~

"Okay, we have the Fenton Phones, Specter Deflectors, Wrist rays, an ecto-foamer, lipstick laser, and the _Boo_merang. Is that all you could find?" Tucker was marking off a list on his PDA, checking and double checking their inventory of ghostly weaponry.

"Not yet, Tuck, I haven't been able to crack the code." Sam was at the door to the Weapons Vault in Fenton Works. "I've already tried 'Maddie', 'Ghost', 'Fudge', 'Open Sesame', and 'Hunting'. Do you have any other ideas?" Tucker stopped what he was doing to look at the goth girl.

"Um, try…'family'." Sam did and the door slowly creaked open.

~Titans Tower~

"Hey, where's Danny? And BB?"

That was what Robin asked thirty minutes ago, none of the Titans found the missing teens inside the tower so they assumed that they went out. They were right of course but they didn't think that Danny was showing the green teen his own version of flight. It was just like his dream, unrestrained, wild, and defiantly weird. Danny tried his best to explain how it worked to his green friend, but it went over the changeling's head. So they enjoyed a nice flight over the bay and some of Jump itself.

"Beat that, grass stain."

"'Is that a challenge, ghost-boy?" Phantom laughed, just like the green boy's dream, it was a sound that was as unrestrained as the flight they were taking.

"Only if you can come up with a better comeback, short-stack" the half-ghost replied.

"Whatever, dude. Do another loop-the-loop!" Phantom smirked in a way that showed a truly devious nature.

"I can do better than that!" And they rocketed off, Phantom's lower body morphed into a spectral tail adding to their speed. Beastboy knew that Danny would never drop him, but that didn't stop him from clinging to Danny like his life depended on it. Not that it mattered if Danny really _did_ drop him, he could just morph into a bird or something and fly on his own.

Danny suddenly stopped mid-air over an old abandoned observatory.

"Hey, wanna go in?" Beastboy looked over the almost rotted out building.

"Sure, but, uh, how?" Danny smiled cockily.

"Dude, ghost powers."

"Oh yeah…" With that, Danny dove into the building.

~Amity Park~

"Valerie, a letter arrived for you!" Mr. Grey called to his daughter.

"Thanks dad! I see it!" She called back. The white envelope sat innocently on the counter, the outside was decorated with her name and address. In a quick motion, Valerie opened it and read the letter; a feral grin crawled onto her face.

"Dad, is it okay if I go on a, uh, class trip?" her lie in place, she waited for her dad to take the bait. Mr. Grey looked in the kitchen at his daughter.

"Where to?" Valerie put on her best begging puppy-dog eyes.

"Jump City."

~Titans Tower~

Alarms blared once again in the giant 'T' shaped building.

"Titans, trouble." Yelled Robin as if the teen didn't already know, "Out by the old observatory, someone witnessed a break-in"

"Who would want to break into an old abandoned observatory?" Cyborg asked in his highest volume.

"We're going to find out."

~At the observatory~

"Whoa, man, I didn't know you knew so much about telescopes." Danny had practically 'squeed' at the sight of a fully operational deep space exploratory telescope. Then he went into an babbled speech about how it worked, what each knob or button did, which star it was programmed to look at when it got shut down, and which planets you could see this time of year.

"Uh, yeah," He said with embarrassment, "I wanted to be an astronaut." The ghost boy sighed heavily.

"What's up, dude?" BB didn't miss the slightly depressed way his friend now held himself.

"It's not like I could work for NASA now. Who would hire a pilot who's already half dead?" The changeling had no answer for that; it didn't matter anyway because the rest of the Teen Titans burst through the door. Each teen was tensed for a battle until they saw who they were going to fight.

"Beastboy, Phantom? What are you doing here?" Asked a very surprised Robin. When BB started floundering, Danny stepped forward.

"I, uh, was looking for a, uh, temporary haunt. I didn't mean to cause trouble." During this exchange, Danny was concentrating on making an invisible copy of himself. One that was supposed to go into another room and turn human then come straight back.

"There's nothing…oh, hey a guys!" a human Danny said from behind the Titans, letting the original Danny tell BB that it was a duplicate. A quick nod and a short explanation from Danny's 'human half' later and they all were flying back to the tower. It was weird for Danny to be talking and holding himself in the air two ways.

"Hey, Phantom, long time no see." 'Danny' said.

"I could say the same for you, what have you been up to?" Danny said, playing along with the weird banter.

"Same old, same old. How about you? Skulker introduce you to any more walls?" 'Danny' said with a grin.

"Oh, har har, Danny. You're a comic genius." The ghost boy rolled his eyes.

"I know, but seriously, what's up?"

"Besides us?" it was the duplicate's turn to roll his eyes. "I kicked the Box ghost out of town the other day."

"I heard about that, nice to know he actually learned something for once."

"You'd figure that he would after the first hundred times I stuffed him in the thermos." Danny rolled his eyes again.

"Yeah, even I lost count after five-hundred and sixty something." This exchange was heard by all of the Titans, and each teen was working out what it meant for their mysterious friend.

~Airspace near the Californian coast-line~

"Soon, Daniel, very soon" On the horizon, a city came to view. Its most prominent feature…a giant tower in the middle of the bay…

Yay! Another short chapter!

Rupert: *growls at me*

What? You may be the plot bunny helping this along, but I'm the author who's actually _writing this all down_.

Rupert: *growls some more*

Oh, you just want me to do another disclaimer thingy…gotcha.

Rupert: *grins*

Ok, consider this a blanket sweep over everything…I. No. Ownie! Got that? Good! Now we can carry on with our lives. What do you say to _that_ Rupert? Rupert? Oh no! Ok, for those who are reading this, DO NOT PANIC. Just because Rupert has escaped doesn't mean we should prepare for the end of all existence…well, not _quite_ yet at least. I'll tell you when I found the little monster, until then…stay hidden.


	6. Chapter 6

*Pops up behind a pile of sand bags* Ok, haven't found Rupert yet, but I'm sure if I follow the screams and path of destruction I'll find him sooner or later. Till then, enjoy this chapter.

~Titans Tower~

The Titans and both Dannies were in the living room turned interrogation room. Beastboy was still thoroughly confused as to why he was seeing double and Danny was having fun arguing with himself and 'catching up with an old friend'. He almost lost his concentration in trying to contain his giggles.

'_I would __**love**__ to see what Jazz thought of this!'_ At that thought, both sides of him sobered pretty quickly; and the Titans noticed so he had to cover it up quickly.

"How you holding up?" he asked his duplicate.

"Getting better, but not quite there yet. Once I can go home…" And Danny nodded. Little known fact about duplication, the duplicates are almost sentient. Made only of thought and energy but with enough awareness to make their own decisions that mimicked what the original would do. So human 'Danny' answered almost exactly like the real Danny would if and when asked that question. The only problem being that Danny didn't know if he _wanted_ to go home anymore. Sure Sam and Tucker were there; but there was no nosy Jazz, no overbearing dad, no caring mom. All because he had to get a stinking detention. If he'd been there, he could have saved them. If he'd been there, he could have stopped the car crash that took his family from him.

"Can…can you guys give…us a minute, please?" Phantom asked sadly.

"Not yet, first we have some questions for you." Robin said in a caring but leader-ly tone. Phantom nodded and discreetly wiped his eyes at the same time 'Danny' did. The rest of the Titans sat back and let Rob do his thing.

"How do you know Danny?"

'_Careful Robin, wading in dangerous waters.'_ "He was the first human I met." _'Good lie Fenton, now just play up that you're __**all**__ ghost.'_

"How did you meet him?"

'_Forget before, __**now**__ we're in dangerous waters.'_ "How most ghosts meet humans, I got out of the Zone." Robin's eyes narrowed under his mask.

"You're a fugitive?"

"What? No! I was just curious about the human world, I decided to stay and help wrangle up other ghosts causing trouble."

"What other ghosts?" Danny's eyebrow rose.

"You seriously think I'm the only ghost to ever come to the human plain? The world is _full_ of ghosts; you just have to know where to look." It was true; Danny had met many specters on his confusing journey across the country. Most of the time they were so weak that they didn't have a physical form.

And the questions continued, some easier to answer than others. He lied where he had to, not knowing that Robin saw almost completely through them. And each lie made both Phantom and Danny look more suspicious. Danny on the other hand was trying to keep his story straight with the rapid-fire questions Robin was throwing his way.

'_He must have been thinking of these for awhile. Does he ever sleep?'_ Danny thought with a little admiration, as long as Robin didn't connect Fenton to Phantom other than a 'friendship'. Finally Robin's questions seemed to run dry, at least for now, so 'Danny' offered to 'share his room'.

'_Such a nice friend I am offering to let me stay in my own room.'_ The half ghost thought sarcastically as he lay down, hoping to get some sleep for once. Even if the sun was still up, he was dead tired.

~Amity Park~

"I think that's everything, ready to go?" Sam didn't answer, mostly because she was already in the Speeder; seatbelt buckled and ready to go since she woke up that morning. "I'll take that as a yes." Tucker situated himself in the passenger seat as the rockets roared to life. Sam's only thoughts were on Danny and getting to him.

~Jump City~

The Titans went out for pizza, they had invited Danny and Phantom but both boys opted to stay behind. That left Danny alone with his thoughts. He felt like he had to go home…but where was his home? Sam and Tucker are the only reasons he'd want to return to Amity Park for. Fenton Works could be set up anywhere really and his two friends could move in with him if they wanted to. But that left the other reason…make that _reasons_…he wants to stay here in Jump City. He couldn't just leave the Titans now; they'd somehow, without meaning to or even really trying, wormed their way onto his short list of friends. Sam and Tuck were great, but they couldn't understand the pressure he put on himself that came with being a hero. The Titans knew the demands of heroism and rose to the challenge, but none of them could just drop the hero act to be normal other than in their own home. And even then there was this tense alertness that didn't come from the alarms. That's what it all came down to in the end, back to 'normal' or find something different but not necessarily better. Either way, he'd have to eventually tell the Titans his secret.

~Pizza Place~

BB was worried about Danny. The changeling knew that the ghost boy had a…sad past, just a look into his eyes could tell you that, but Beastboy didn't know the full extent of what happened. Danny avoided all questions about his past home life when they talked and he avoided more when it involved family matters. BB could respect that even if he didn't understand.

Robin, on the other hand, was even more puzzled by Danny and Phantom. Danny, he knew, was a run away. He controlled his eating habits as to not seem weak and guarded that purple backpack like his life depended on it. Yes, he was careful with the other two huge duffle bags but not as extremely as that backpack. Danny was friends with Phantom and clamed up about anything involving his past, though he seems to have warmed up to Beastboy a great deal. Phantom was just as irksome. The ghost seemed to follow Danny's every move and know everything the boy was thinking as he was thinking it. Danny's mood reflected on Phantom and visa versa. Phantom was obviously a powerful ghost, why would he hand around a human? Why would he stay in the real world?

~Amity Park~

"Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes daddy."

"And you'll call me as soon as you land?"

"Yes daddy."

"You'll behave yourself?"

"Of course, daddy." This conversation had been going on for a good three hours now as Mr. Grey and his daughter were exchanging goodbyes.

"You have fun now."

"I will, thanks dad." And with one final hug, Valerie Grey was on her way to Jump City.

~Somewhere under Jump~

A man was standing in shadows, his half colored mask glinting off whatever light was in his lair.

"All the pieces are coming together, wouldn't you say?" Another man stepped from the shadows to show his immaculate business suit and slicked back hair.

"Indeed they are. Soon we will move to checkmate, you will have your Little Bird and I, my Little Badger."

"Is everything set for the next phase?"

"Yes, my pawn is on her way now."

"Excellent."

*Pops up from random bush with a pith helmet and a tranquilizer gun.* Still haven't found the little devil. But stay calm; he couldn't have gotten too far. As always, thanks for the reviews. Your support means a lot to me. Till next time! *Stalks away*


	7. Chapter 7

Hi guys (and gals)! I finally found Rupert!

Rupert: *gnawing on teddy bear from starhedgehog1117*

Thanks for the new toy; Rupert is much more cooperative with something to chew on. Enjoy the new chap!

~In the Specter Speeder~

"How much farther?"

"You have the map, Tuck. You tell me." The techno geek checked his PDA as well as the surrounding landscape.

"We're about an hour away; we should be there by nightfall." Sam nodded satisfied by the answer.

'_We're coming Danny. I'm sorry I'm making you break your promise.'_

~In a plane~

"Thank you for choosing us for your travel needs, we are now arriving at Jump City. Local time…" Valerie tuned out the overly cheery flight attendant and looked out her tiny window.

'_I'm coming to get you Phantom. You'll be sorry for all you've done.'_

~Titans Tower~

Danny, in human form, had walked into the living area looking very nervous. Beastboy noticed this first and became worried.

"Dude, are you okay?" Danny nodded and took a deep breath in preparation for what he was about to do.

"I, uh, need to…to tell you guys something. But first, I…I need to know, um, what…what do you think of…Phantom?" This caught the attention of the rest of the Titans.

"What do you mean, friend Danny?" Starfire asked with a little worry leaking into her voice. She too was worried for her newest friend.

"Yeah man, why would you need to know that? We barely know the guy." Danny winced at Cyborg's comment.

"Well, I just…need to know. It'd make it easier to say what I want to tell you." A hand went to the back of Danny's head. Robin turned to Raven and discreetly asked her what this was about. Since day one, Raven hadn't been able to enter Danny's mind at all. His emotions alone were locked behind an iron like gate in his mind; she could see them but not know why. So, to answer Robin's question, she shrugged. That more than anything made Robin not want to trust Danny or Phantom, but he did. For some odd reason, he couldn't _not_ trust the black haired boy and his ghostly companion.

"I don't know that much about him," Robin saw Danny wince and sink a little into himself, "But I'd like to. He seems like a good guy." Danny smiled almost sadly at Rob.

"I would like to as well, same goes for you Danny." Raven said in her usual monotone as the others nodded.

"Thanks guys, you don't know how much that means to me. Well I guess you will when I tell you." His face became more serious. "I haven't ever really _told_ anyone before, two people where there when it happened and two more have figured it out on their own. I don't really know where to start…" BB's ears pricked up.

'_Is he about to do what I think he's gonna do?'_ The changeling took a step towards Danny.

"It's okay, dude, I know it's gotta be hard but try your best, 'kay?" Danny nodded and took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"Okay, you guys said you wanted to get to know me and Phantom better," they all nodded as they waited for their friend to continue. The sun was setting quite beautifully over the bay as a silver object soared over the water. It suddenly changed direction and headed straight for the 'T' shaped building as another silver object raced after it. The sound of breaking glass caught the attention of all the teen in the living room causing the Titans to see a boomerang looking object head right for…

"Ow!" the back of Danny's head. When Danny looked to see what hit him, he paled. The Titans were on high alert as a hover craft of some sort 'parked' outside the broken window and a girl jumped out of the driver's seat.

"Danny!" Her short cut hair was pulled into a half pony-tail and she had a fashion sense to rival Raven.

"Sam?" Danny almost whispered as the girl wrapped her arms around the shocked boy.

"Danny!" A boy emerged from the craft. A PDA in hand, glasses skewed, and stoplight style of dress.

"Tucker?" The new boy rushed to Danny as well, neither newcomer saw the tense Titans.

"What…how…why?" Danny was too confused and emotional to ask all he wanted to. His friends were here, his friends that he hadn't contacted for their safety, his friends that he shouldn't see till his birthday.

"Oh no! No, no, no, no! You have to go, right now! It's not safe, he'll see, guys, and when he does…oh this is really bad!" Danny dissolved into incoherent mutterings about keeping his friends safe from 'him'.

"Danny, it's okay. He doesn't know we're here, we made sure of that. And our parents think we're on a field trip." Sam said in hopes to calm Danny down, it was working.

"Are you _sure_ Vlad can't find you?" Danny said in a voice that none of them had heard before, not even Sam or Tuck.

"Absolutely, dude. I triple checked everything for bugs somewhere over Texas and we took the long way to confuse anyone who'd be following us." Danny let out the breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Alright, but I still can't go back yet. You know that." The two nodded.

"Then why are you here?" Robin demanded, he trusted Danny but having these two break into the tower had set him on edge. Sam and Tucker finally looked around them…Tucker geeked-out.

"Oh my PDA! You're the Teen Titans!" Sam and Danny rolled their eyes.

"Seriously, Tuck? You're friends with Danny and you _still_ go fan-boy over other heroes?" Danny stared at Sam, "What?" she asked when she saw.

"I, uh, haven't actually, you know…" Realization dawned on the goth then worry.

"You…haven't? But I thought…why are you with the Titans if you didn't?"

"I was about to, would you back me up?" he asked with a hopeful smile.

"Always." Sam declared with a smile of her own.

~Over Jump City~

The Red Huntress was flying around looking for anything that even remotely resembled Phantom.

"Come on, ghost. Where are you?" her helmet mounted ghost tracker wasn't picking up any ecto-activity. She was about to fly off and call it a night when a flashing green alarm finally picked up a trail.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Valerie zoomed off, paying more attention to the tracker than her surroundings.

~Titans Tower~

"What?" Cyborg asked…again. Irked, Danny explained once more.

"I'm Phantom." And to prove his point he transformed into his alter ego.

"What?" Danny rolled his eyes and phased through walls and floors to grab the bags from his room. Upon return he noticed that Robin was trying to grill into Sam and Tucker, Raven and Starfire were giggling (as much as Rae can giggle) in a corner and Beastboy was trying to wake up an unconscious Cyborg with little success. Danny rolled his eyes again and dropped his bags with a loud thud that caught everyone's attention and woke up Cy.

"Danny, how heavy are those bags?" Sam asked with trepidation. Danny shrugged.

"I don't know the exact weight, probably over six hundred pounds each." The Titans' eyes bugged.

"Isn't that a little light for you?" Tucker asked.

"Had to keep it light, running for my life." He stopped ant thought about what he said, "Make that half-life." The Titans' eyes somehow got wider. Robin composed himself first.

"What's all in there?" Danny opened up the duffle bags showing all the weaponry each with a green ghost glob surrounding a white 'F'.

"Dude, what _is_ all that?" BB asked, even if he was the first to learn of Danny's ghostly side he still didn't know everything that the ghost boy had done other than those first stories.

"My parents were scientists and inventers. They invented ghost weapons and this is all the projects that they couldn't finish."

"You keep using past tense." Raven pointed out as Danny winced, Sam and Tucker gave him sympathetic glances.

"That's because they're dead." Danny turned human again and started the long and complicated story of how he came to Jump City.

~Outside of Titans Tower~

'_Sam and Tucker are here? Is that __**Danny**__?'_

"My parents were inventers, as you know, and they invented something called the Ghost Portal. But no matter what they did, they couldn't get it to work so one day I took Tuck and Sam to see it. I don't remember it all very well but I do remember pressing a button while I was inside it. That's how I got my ghost powers."

'_**Ghost powers**__? Danny has __**ghost powers**__?'_

"Well, a month or so after I got the hang of a few basic powers, my parents took the whole family to their college reunion in Wisconsin. That's where I met Vlad. It's also where I figured out that Vlad was half ghost too."

'_Mr. Masters is half ghost? __**Danny**__'s half ghost! I could have shot at one of my only __**real**__ friends!'_

"You forgot the best part, Danny."

"And what would that be Sam? The fact that Vlad wanted to kill my dad? Marry my mom? Or where he wanted me as some son slash apprentice? Oh, I know, it's when the fruit-loop gave Valerie all that hunting gear so he could spy on me and eventually clone me!" Valerie couldn't take anymore; she had too many things to think about. Masters was an evil ghost, Danny was a ghost too and to add salt to this wound she had hunted him without knowing it. But one thing was certain…this was the last anyone would see of 'the Red Huntress'.

~Underneath Jump City~

"It seems that your pawn has switched sides." Slade said in a bored tone.

"Don't worry, my dear man. I have another move in mind that you will find most…entertaining." Vlad Plasmius disappeared in a swirl of pink smoke.

Well, what do you say Rupert? Is this a good chapter?

Rupert: *shrugs while still chewing on the teddy's head*

You wanna put on the presents that jeanette9a gave you?

Rupert: *puts on the medallion and cloak without dropping the teddy*

Good boy! See you next time folks!


	8. Chapter 8

Hi guys (and gals)! As always, thanks for the reviews! This is officially my most popular story and your encouragement means a lot to me and Rupert.

Rupert: *Grins evilly as stuffing falls from the ceiling*

You killed your toy, didn't you?

Rupert: *unrepentant grin*

Whatever…On with the chapter!

~In the Ghost Zone~

"Now where…ah!" Plasmius floated toward an unusual looking building floating on the outskirts of the inhabited region of the Zone. The Observants' home and the place where they kept watch over a certain ghost that Vlad hoped would cause trouble for Danny.

~Titans Tower~

Five jaws were currently on the floor. Danny had finished telling the Titans about himself.

"Danny, when did Skulker attack you?" Sam asked with worry edging into her voice.

"Maybe within two minutes of leaving, why?" Sam didn't answer but rushed over to him and pulled up his shirt to much protest from the ghost boy. All the teens watched as part of the long and ugly scar faded away in the wake of a greenish light.

"Whoa…" Cyborg stated.

"You can say that again!" Beastboy accentuated.

"It's not all gone though." Pointed Tucker, "What does that mean?" No one had an answer.

~Underneath Jump City~

"I trust you found what you were looking for?" Slade stepped from the shadows to address Vlad.

"Oh, yes, I did find exactly what was needed. You will be very pleased at the display." As they talked more of plans and schemes, vines and roots all around Jump City were growing at an accelerated rate. Trees uprooted themselves, flowers grew grotesque features, and plants of unknown origins grew through cracks in sidewalks. The park became like a jungle within minutes and the greenery extended throughout the city.

~Titans Tower~

Alarms blared as Danny's ghost sense went off.

"The city is being taken over by gigantic plants!" Robin said as he checked the view screen.

"Well _that_ sounds familiar." Danny said with much irritation, "We better pluck this weed before he can take over the town." They all looked to him for an explanation. "Undergrowth, an over grown plant controlling ghost that I fought awhile back." They all nodded.

"Isn't he that ghost that took over S-" Tucker's question was interrupted by Danny's hand.

"Yes he is. Can we go?" Truth was that Danny never told Sam what happened exactly that day and Tucker only knew because the techno geek hacked into Danny's private ghost files. One file in particular about a plant infused Sam that he deemed Plant Sam, unoriginal name but one that he didn't want to use often anyway. Sam had no memories from her time as Plant Sam and Danny wasn't going to remind her.

They all took off to the city in the Specter Speeder. Sam was the last one off the ship when they landed. As she touched the overgrown grass, she collapsed.

"Sam!" Danny rushed to her side.

"I feel…something. Everything's growing and I can feel it." Her eyes glowed a ghostly green. Not the toxic green of ectoplasm like Danny's eyes but a green of new growth. It was natural and not at the same time.

"Sam?" The girl turned to Danny, "Are you alright?" She stood up straight and gave a convincing laugh.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You freak out too much."

It only took a few moments of wondering around to find the source of the problem. Undergrowth had planted himself in the middle of the park and surrounded himself with every plant available.

"You have come at last, weaklings." The plant obsessed ghost hissed.

"Who you calling 'weak'? If I remember correctly, I beat you last time. I'm only _more_ powerful now." Danny stated boldly as he transformed.

"Ah but you have brought me my daughter and food for my children." It was then that the Mind Vines attached themselves to Danny's friends. He watched as Sam went through a transformation of her own. Thorny vines crawled up her legs and down her arms, somehow not leaving any marks at all as her hair burst from its containment. Her clothes fell like leaves from her body to be replaced with a tight fitting green mini-dress. Her feet were bare but the vines encircled her thighs and calves and her arms grew long gloves. Vines fell from her back, arms and hips like garlands. Her eyes were closed throughout all of this and Danny expected them to open with a glinting evil red not unlike Undergrowth himself. Her eyes still closed, she turned to the plant ghost.

"You just ticked off the good humor goth!" Vines shot from the ground and attacked their creator with projectile thorns, flowers spurted out poisonous gas, and trees pinned the large ghost to the ground.

Danny floated next to the green eyed Sam, stunned.

"How'd you do that?" Sam shrugged and continued he assault on Undergrowth with her newfound powers. Meanwhile, the overgrown weed shared his powers with two others in hopes to combat 'his traitorous daughter'. The ghost powered teens didn't see them until it was too late. A green bolt of energy and a black bird-shaped fog were fired at Danny and Sam.

"It looks like Starfire and Raven have joined the fight." Danny said as Sam tried to hold back the other girls.

~Underneath Jump City~

Vlad and Slade smirked at the havoc they wrought upon the city.

"Didn't you say Daniel had ice powers?" Slade asked casually.

"Yes, he does. But he won't use them unless he wants to harm his little girlfriend as well." The evil glint in his eyes intensified at the imagined look upon Danny's face. "Daniel _will_ come to me, or he and his loved ones will reunite in the afterlife."

Thanks again guys (and gals) for your awesome support. I just wanted to tell you that the Thanksgiving weekend may be tight on updates. I'll see what I can do, but if I can't update, you'll get three (that's right, three) chaps on Sunday.

Rupert: *chatters at me*

Rupert wants me to tell you _why_ I might not update. Truth is, Wednesday morning I'm supposed to be on my way to **Vegas** to spend the weekend with family (And hit the slots but that's a perk) so there's no telling if or when I'll be able to get on the computer at all.

Rupert: *Grins*

I guess that's it. Keep a look out on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday just in case. Ciao the PSC!


	9. Chapter 9

Hi guys (and gals), I'm really _really __**really**_ sorry that I haven't updated in a long time. Being off the computer for a week does that to a person.

Rupert: *growling at me*

I would _never_ forget you, Rupert! You went to Vegas with me!

Rupert: *Takes out scythe*

Okay then, Enjoy the chap!

~Jump City~

"Join us, Sister. Be one with The Growth." Raven said in a creepy version of her usual monotone. Danny shielded Sam from the blasts from Starfire as Sam protected Danny from a sneak attack from Raven.

"How do you shut them up?" Asked the irate goth.

"Ignore them and kick butt." Danny answered unfazed.

"Not. Helpful." Sam snapped back fighting the other girls for the control of the plants surrounding them.

"How about this then?" And he shot the nearest fanged fern with an ice blast. Sam screamed in pain as the plant shriveled and died.

"Still not helpful." She weakly sighed.

~Under Jump City~

Vlad full out smiled dementedly as horror and shock worked in tandem on Danny's face. _"I have taken away your weapon. Your move, Daniel'_

~Jump City~

"Sam!" She had fallen unconscious…fifty feet in the air. Danny speed as fast as he could to catch her as her ghostly plant features fell away like leaves in the fall returning her once more to human. It was close, really close, but Danny caught her and set her down gently. Once he felt that she was safe, he shot after the two mind-controlled teens. Angry at himself, Undergrowth, and Plamius; Danny became reckless and sloppy. The remaining Beastboy and Robin, though still connected to the Mind Vine, saw the trouble and fought for control of their bodies again.

~Under Jump~

"Fascinating. He has much potential." Slade said almost to himself.

"Yes, almost too much. That's why he has to be mine." Vlad commented

~Jump City~

Beastboy broke the mind control first and Robin soon followed. It only took seconds for them to reach their targets.

~Above Jump~

Valerie aimed carefully; it would only take one shot. One shot and the madness would end. She just needed and opening. Smirking as she found it.

~Under Jump~

"No! It's not possible! It's _not_ possible!"

~Jump City~

Danny was tiring fast. He didn't want to risk hurting Sam by freezing the plants again but he was running out of options. He was smashed into the ground by a large thorny vine and the edges of his vision went hazy and black. Danny barely felt the transformation take away his ghostly appearance. The last thing he saw before completely blacking out was two blobs that vaguely looked like people kissing and a large green fire behind them.

~Titans Tower~

"You think he'll wake up soon? I need to talk to him."

"About what, Valerie? How you shot at him? How you hunted him for no reason other than he was a ghost? How you worked for Vlad the whole time?"

"Cool it Sam. You know he doesn't blame her for all that stuff. If anything, he blames himself."

"Why would he blame himself?"

"I'm with Rob on this one, dudes."

"Yeah, Danny's a good kid, why would he blame himself for anything?"

"Right now I blame you for not letting me sleep." Danny moaned as he sat up. "Seriously, can't the half-dead get a nap?" He finished sarcastically only to see the looks he was being thrown.

"About time you wake up, sleeping beauty." Sam said teasingly.

"What happened to Undergrowth?" Asked the half-ghost getting into 'town hero' mode, "Is he still out there? I have to go get him." He started pushing himself off of the medical bed only to fall hard and fast to the floor. Cyborg helped him back up.

"Relax man," Tucker started, "Freaky Beaky is taken care of and the town is safe." The rest of the day was spent on explanations from Robin on what happened after Danny passed out, from Valerie on how she found out about the ghost boy, and from Danny about the first time Undergrowth showed up.

~Under Jump City~

Vlad paced back and forth.

"That little rat! How dare he! And Miss Grey! They have to go, all of them. Daniel will see things my way when he has nothing left to protect." Slade watched the deranged man as he formed plans. Slade schemed as well; he planned to rid himself of the leach known as Vlad unless the half-ghost came up with something more substantial.

Horribly short, it's like it was fighting me.

Rupert: *Chatters at me*

Yeah, I know it was my own fault. Thank you for pointing out the obvious.

Rupert: *Grins*

Sorry for the horrible action scene, I hope to get better on that front. Thanks for the reviews!


	10. Chapter 10

~Titans Tower~

The five teens that made up the Teen Titans and Valerie all looked at Danny in shock. He had just finished telling them of his powers as they only grew in the two years he'd been on the run. Danny mentally sighed as he remembered he still didn't tell his new friends _why_ he was running. He didn't want to risk them getting too involved, but they did deserve to know as they were now all targets. But now it was late, it was time to rest before he sprung another surprise on them.

Valerie and Sam got their own rooms on the girls' level of the Tower and Tucker roomed with Danny. The dark-skinned teen turned to his long time friend with worry in his eyes.

"You didn't tell them about Vlad yet have you?" Danny looked away.

"Not yet. It's all still so new to them, even Valerie. I want them to get used to the idea that I'm part ghost first 'cause, let's face it, that's the least weird thing about all this." Tucker nodded solemnly.

"Can't deny that. We got into some major trouble sometimes."

"Yeah. Well, night Tuck. See you tomorrow." The half ghost said as he lay in a sleeping bag. He insisted that his friend take the bed as he was used to hard ground. It wasn't long before Danny heard soft snores either leaving the only awake person in the whole Tower smiling softly.

The ghostly teen looked out the large window at the stars. How he missed his friends, he didn't want this moment to end. He didn't want to wake up and have to face tomorrow. Because knowing his luck and Vlad, tomorrow would be hell on all of them. He only hoped he had the strength to face whatever came and protect his friends, both old and new.

~Somewhere over Jump~

Vlad was floating with his arms crossed looking as smug as he ever looked. His newest plan was working out well as he watched several ghosts infest the city below. Now if only his prize would play along.

~In Danny's room~

The blue mist escaped his mouth causing Danny to gasp quietly. His eyes widened as he shot out of his blankets. It took no more than three whole seconds to transform and be outside; flying towards Jump City to find what caused his ghost sense to go off from way out in the middle of the bay. Whatever it was it had to be big. Danny never noticed or heard Tucker turn over in the bed and sit up. He never caught Tucker's wide eyes and calls to figure out what was happening, nor did the half-ghost see the Titans rush into their living room because of the alarms that went off as a careless specter in town tripped a security alarm. Danny didn't notice any of those things as he now fought for his half-life in the middle of a horde of mindless ghosts that were attempting to take over the town and they were willing to take him out to do it.

~Over Jump~

Vlad saw the streak of black and white that flew at nearly supersonic speeds to the town. A large smirk firmly in place he, almost casually, pressed a button on a small remote he held. In a half second, Vlad had control of Titans Tower itself and he forced it to attack the occupants inside.

"You won't need those _friends_ any longer, little badger."

~Titans Tower~

Sam jumped out of the way of a ray beam. She looked over to Tucker and Cyborg as they were busy hacking into the systems. A smile came to her face as this scene reminded her of some other adventures with Danny.

"Just like old times, huh Tuck?" She called as she ducked a tentacle that shot out of the wall. Valerie, Robin, Starfire, and Raven were trying to take out as many of the threats as possible so the tech-geniuses could work. Sam was just dodging and making for a good distraction to the systems, even if all she did was dodge out of the way.

"Sure does Sam." Tucker called back without taking his eyes off the screen in front of him.

"Cut the chatter and work!" Robin ordered.

"Sure thing, but one question," said Sam as she sidestepped another beam, "where's Beast Boy?" With a call of victory the defenses stopped trying to kill them and what the gothic human said sunk in. No one had seen the shape-shifter since Danny had left.

~In Jump~

Danny, looking worse for wear, was rather thankful that he had enough mental forethought to bring one of his full to bursting thermoses. He didn't know if they could break. He didn't know that he was one ghost away from shattering the one he held. He didn't know that when a ghost thermos broke, every single angry specter inside would be after his hide in worse ways than Skulker could ever think of. He didn't know that help was on the way as Beast Boy flew as fast as his falcon wings could take him and a spare thermos. Danny didn't know this as he sucked away another of the still numerous ghosts that were bent on making him a full ghost.

~Above Jump~

Vlad watched with an evil chuckle as Danny screamed in pain when the worn thermos burst with the force of an atom bomb with none of the usual effects. Danny was soon lost in the swarm.

It's short, it's horrible, and it's late! To top it all off, Rupert ran away with a gun! If you see my little psycho bunny, please tell him to come home… or shoot him up with tranquilizers and keep him locked in a cage, whichever is best for the moment. Just remember, he bites.


End file.
